In the late 70s and early 80s I was a board member with the Unitarian
Universalist Association in Boston. In a board of 26 people, I was the only
Canadian. During lunch one day, I asked a board member who was both a lawyer
and a minister what he would do if Canada elected a government which wanted
closer ties with Russia. Without a pause he said, “I would send in the
Marines.”

This attitude, I believe, is at the heart of our problems in the Middle
East. As long as the USA and its allies send in planes and ground forces to
attack countries or factions in those countries in an attempt to right some
perceived wrong, those countries or factions will fight back using terrorism
as a weapon.

There is very little to show for all the casualties and money spent by the
west. The USA spent almost a trillion dollars fighting the Gulf war, leaving
Iraq arguably no better off than before and finding no “weapons of mass
destruction.” If there are good results from all the wars and skirmishes in
the area, I haven’t seen it.+

So, I agree with Justin Trudeau and his government. Airstrikes or any other
form of war is bound to fail. Instead, we should provide training,
humanitarian relief and, accept as many refugees as possible.